The majority of small businesses are not planning to give staff an extra day off for the Diamond Jubilee in June and most are fed up with “footing the bill” for royal celebrations, business services firm ELAS has found.

With more than 2,500 hours of live Olympics on TV this summer, most broadcast live during the working day, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and TV Licensing have warned small firms to check they are licensed to watch at work or face a fine, writes Georgina Harris.

Women aged over 50 are defying the “jobs recession” and finding work in greater numbers than any other age group, including their male counterparts, research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has found.